To these perfectly natural reactions, the shady merchant Sajet replied:
“If I had reduced the caravan to be less conspicuous, we might not have been attacked. But what about the return trip! Once we fill up with ‘merchandise’ in Liselka, we’ll make a fortune!”
His only defense was his desire to squeeze out every bit of profit.
If it were normal trade, that would be fine, but what this guy is planning is a rotten way to do business. He’s a refreshing kind of scum who doesn’t even try to hide it. I like it. It means I can attack him without a shred of conscience.
If it were just Naumani, me, and the rest of our merry band of bandits attacking the caravan, Sajet’s “highly paid guards” might have been enough. But the strength of the adventurer duo was far beyond what they had prepared for.
Sajet glanced at Naumani, who was shouting commands while clashing with the guards.
I could tell from the look in his eyes—he was thinking of trying to win him over. It wasn’t rare for bandits to be “mid-career hires.”
“Charge the carriage! Seize the contents!”
“I won’t let you!”
One of the guards closed the distance to Naumani, our leader, in an instant.
It seems that, just as Sajet grumbled, there were some who were actually worth the high pay.
However, our Boss’s strength was nothing to sneeze at either. In fact, he was strong enough that your average adventurer wouldn’t want to mess with him.
“I really hate being interrupted.”
The guard swung his sword down, but Naumani parried it with his staff.
“《Pile Driver》!”
Simultaneously with those words, an unbelievable crushing force erupted from the staff. With a grotesque sound, the guard’s face turned into [what used to be a face].
“The guards are pathetic too! At this rate, all of you—”
“All of us… what do you plan to do?”
A voice questioned him from behind.
“What!?”
It seemed the bandits weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the chaos. Appearing in a surprise attack was a figure hidden in a black cloak and hood, concealing both face and form.
The figure swung a greatsword down carelessly. Naumani raised his staff to block it, but the greatsword sliced through both the staff and his body without hesitation, splitting him in two.
Naumani’s strength was a step or two above the other bandits. And yet, he was cut down effortlessly in a single blow.
It wasn’t just raw physical strength. Even in that one swing, there must have been a complex technical and psychological exchange—predicting moves, gauging timing. It was beyond my comprehension.
“Oh, you’ve arrived!”
“I was delayed suppressing some rebellious elements. If I had arrived sooner, I could have saved your subordinates.”
“No, no, those money-grubbing incompetents… it doesn’t matter how many of them die.”
“…I see. Then, let us finish off the rest.”
The mysterious figure’s black cloak fluttered as they turned toward the bandits and the adventurers.
Yeah, no. There’s no way we can win. That’s a “tough enemy” by any definition. But the other bandits, perhaps because they were moved by Naumani’s strength,
“How dare you sneak attack the Boss!”
“I’ll kill youuuu!!”
were all fired up.
The guard I had been “fighting” fell to a blow from a bandit who attacked from the side.
If I turn my back and run now, I’ll probably end up like him. In other words, I have no choice but to ride this wave.
Well, if it goes south, I’ll just die!
✘✘✘
Even if bandits are lower quality than guards, they become a threat equal to guards when they have the numbers.
While the blood-rushed bandits and guards were in a melee, the [Cloaked Knight] faced off against the priest-like girl, one half of the adventurer duo.
“I can tell your skill just by the way you stand. I find it hard to understand why someone of your caliber would assist such a person. However, I don’t expect you to repent just by talking here.”
“So you understand.”
The hood covered the figure’s mouth and didn’t even show their eyes. The voice sounded muffled.
I could tell it was a man, but no more information than that.
“So, what will you do now? Even those of the Sigil Sanctum have no authority to act freely in the Count’s territory.”
“We are from the Sigil Sanctum, but we have already resigned from the clergy. We are merely adventurers now.”
“You intend to throw away a peaceful life? What is it that drives you that far?”
“Because Liselka is her home, and because she is my irreplaceable best friend. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Indeed, perhaps it is. But the world is neither as narrow nor as shallow as you think. It is a hollow thing to not understand the difference in strength.”
As the [Cloaked Knight] finished speaking, he swung his sword, and blades erupted from the earth.
It was the Blaze of the Formless Sword. To have users of such a technique—and I hate to say it, but in a backwater place like this—clashing against each other is an incredibly rare situation.
The created Blaze was sharp, faster than the one used by that female knight-type adventurer.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“《Partition》!”
The priest-type deployed her [Petition] almost simultaneously. Her power was to create walls. Acting as a shield, it only delayed the arrival of the Blaze for a moment; it couldn’t block it entirely.
Her partner immediately moved in for support, grabbing her and jumping backward.
“Kairi, as I thought…”
“It would have been nice if he was just a blowhard…”
That priest has a foul mouth…
The Cloaked Knight wasn’t just skilled in techniques. His footwork and sword speed were top-tier.
From that point, there was no more conversation. No, there was no time for it—it was an exchange of technique and power.
The female knight was doing a decent job of responding, but she was still slowly accumulating cuts here and there.
Between providing support and defense, the priest tried to disrupt the [Cloaked Knight]’s movements, but he skillfully parried all of them. Eventually, a small crack in their coordination led to a catastrophe.
Without using flashy moves, he used his body positioning to get inside the knight’s guard. In such close-quarters combat, they were both outside the range where they could use their trump card, the Blaze of the Formless Sword. In a contest of strength and skill without the Blaze, the Cloaked Knight was clearly superior. Finally, one of his strikes sent the female knight’s sword flying. The tip of his greatsword was pointed right at her.
The reason I’m doing this play-by-play commentary in my head is that I’m at a bit of a distance from the fight between the guards and bandits.
In this situation, I could have quietly slipped away to pursue my dream of being an adventurer.
But for some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
To abandon an adventurer who loves her home and an adventurer who loves her best friend and run away… Even if I eventually fulfilled my wish and became an adventurer somewhere, I wouldn’t be able to hold my head high, knowing it came at the cost of such a bad aftertaste.
Being an adventurer is my aspiration, my dream. It’s one of the reasons I endure this dry, repetitive cycle of “Respawns.”
There’s no point in becoming one if I have to defile that dream.
So, the reason I was standing by here must have been for this moment.
“Oh-ho-ey!”
I don’t really believe in fate, but I decided to believe this was a calling to stand here and throw my all into one shot.
If this can save the life of a senior on the path I admire…
The thrown stone gathered speed. It was a perfect surprise attack, striking the side of the Cloaked Knight’s head.
However, far from being a fatal wound, it didn’t even seem to cause him any real pain.
He turned around and leveled his sword at me.
I considered throwing a second one, but that wasn’t what was needed.
If a surprise attack didn’t kill or even damage him, then even with me helping to make it three-against-one, we wouldn’t snatch a victory.
“For now, get out!”
Since I don’t know them, I don’t have many words to offer.
If I wanted to convey that they couldn’t win this fight, this was all I could think of—maybe my vocabulary is just poor.
In the next instant, the Cloaked Knight’s Blaze intangible sword tore my body in two.
✘✘✘
The bandit who suddenly intervened dies while shouting something nonsensical.
Even in a situation that would normally be incomprehensible, Asha and Kairi, having felt the difference in power, took those words and retreated with everything they had.
As the Cloaked Knight stepped forward to pursue them…
“《Partition》!!”
A semi-invisible wall from a [Petition] blocked his path.
Even if it was something a Blaze user could easily shatter, that single moment was enough to gain the distance needed to escape.
He watched the backs of the two female adventurers as they disappeared into the trees along the highway.
“…Asha.”
The Cloaked Knight whispered her name, then turned his gaze to the bandit he had cut down.
(I am grateful, bandit. Thanks to you, I didn’t have to cut her down.)
The remaining bandits were also reduced in number by the mutual killing with the guards. Eventually, as their brain chemicals depleted and fear overcame excitement, they scattered and fled.
Sajet the shady merchant and his guards didn’t have the strength or the reason to pursue them. Driving them off was enough. There was no reason for a shady merchant to contribute to the peace of this land by hunting down bandits.
“Thank you, Mignard-sama. Thanks to you, we didn’t lose the tribute for Selji-sama.”
The Cloaked Knight—Mignard—didn’t even give a glance to the foul-grinning Sajet.
(A “tribute” for my father, Selji? How boldly you say it.)
But there was no point in speaking his mind.
“I will join the guard from here. We hurry to Liselka.”
To Mignard’s words, Sajet obeyed with a fawning attitude.
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